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Chris Sale is an All-Star Starter Again

Surprise, surprise, Chris Sale will be the American League starter for this year’s All-Star Game.

In a press conference this afternoon, AL team manager AJ Hinch said that Sale was an obvious choice to start the annual game, calling him “truly a special pitcher in this league.” His statement was short, but sweet, saying “the proof is in the numbers” and in Sale’s “pure dominance.”

For his part, Sale stayed modest, calling the move a “big honor” and acknowledging, “this doesn’t happen very often.”

Not often at all, in fact. Sale is only the third pitcher in MLB history to start three consecutive All-Star Games, and only the second American League. Yankees pitcher Lefty Gomez was the AL starter for the first three All-Star Games, beginning in 1933.

Sale currently leads MLB with 188 strikeouts. He’s currently 10-4 on the season with a 2.23 ERA and 5.6 WAR.